In the contemporary global marketplace, steel manufacturers are confronted by a complex web of challenges, notably the imperative to achieve heightened cost efficiency amid volatile raw material and energy prices, as well as the intense pressure exerted by escalating international competition. Leveraging patent information presents a significant strategic advantage for the steel industry, enabling the acceleration of research and development efforts aimed at creating novel, cost-effective, and superior steel products by minimizing redundant research and focusing on unique cost-effective innovations. Additionally, Freedom to Operate analyses are crucial for steel companies to minimize legal risks and support the market entry of new products. Equipping research and development teams with advanced patent intelligence tools is indispensable, as these platforms streamline the analysis of vast datasets, enabling researchers to rapidly identify pertinent information, thereby accelerating innovation cycles and securing a sustainable competitive edge within the dynamic steel sector.

We interviewed Sascha Kamhuber about the importance of patent intelligence tools in the steel industry.

What are the biggest current concerns of steel producers?

Right now, steel producers are really feeling the squeeze. They’re battling sky-high costs for everything, and at the same time, they’ve got to be super careful not to accidentally infringe on someone else’s patents. Basically, they’re trying to keep costs down while making sure they’re not getting hit with a lawsuit. It’s a tough balancing act.

Let us focus on the patent infringement risks first. Why is this a specific concern in the steel industry?

Patent infringement presents a considerable risk to any industry. Unauthorized use of patented inventions can lead to costly litigation and significant financial penalties. Therefore, companies must prioritize conducting thorough patent due diligence to avoid inadvertently infringing upon existing intellectual property rights and to maintain a competitive position within the market.

The steel industry’s focus on alloy development introduces a heightened risk of patent infringement due to the complex nature of elemental compositions. Small variations in alloy formulations, often involving subtle alterations in less than a mass percentage, can yield significant performance enhancements. However, these seemingly minor adjustments may inadvertently replicate compositions in patented ranges. Consequently, the industry faces a unique challenge in navigating the complex landscape of alloy-related patents, necessitating meticulous patent analysis to avoid infringement and ensure freedom to operate.

This type of analysis sounds very time consuming. You developed a patent search tool specifically for the steel industry. How does it address this unique challenge?

It is providing researchers with search capabilities focused on precise chemical compositions and material properties. Users can input specific elemental mass ratios and desired characteristics to retrieve highly targeted patent information. This functionality enables researchers to efficiently identify potentially relevant prior art, thereby mitigating the risk of inadvertent patent infringement.

We designed it to democratize access to patent information for researchers, regardless of their prior expertise in intellectual property. This user-friendly approach enables researchers to efficiently search the patent landscape, enabling them to identify relevant prior art and inform their research and development activities without requiring specialized legal knowledge.

Before you also mentioned the cost pressure in the steel industry. How can patent information help there?

In the context of cost pressures within the steel industry, patent information offers strategic advantages for optimizing research and development expenditures. By conducting thorough patent searches, companies can avoid redundant research efforts, thereby conserving resources and mitigating development costs. Also, the accessibility of intuitive search tools, particularly those that facilitate searches based on precise atomic mass percentages of alloys, is crucial in this context. These tools empower researchers to efficiently identify relevant prior art, enabling them to quickly determine whether a proposed alloy composition is already patented.

About the interviewee

As a mechanical engineer, Sascha Kamhuber is working in the patent field since 2006 as CEO of infoapps GmbH. His focus was always to make patent information available, not only for the patent experts, but especially for engineers and researchers in companies. Therefore, he is designing patent tools, which have a high degree of intuitive operability. Also, his solutions are focusing on the needs of specific industries, such as the steel industry.